Gigi Hadid Dismissed As Potential Juror In Harvey Weinstein Trial
NEW YORK (AP/CBSLA) — Supermodel Gigi Hadid was dismissed Thursday as a potential juror for the sexual assault trial of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein in New York City.
The 24-year-old Hadid was spotted shortly before 9 a.m. Easter time walking into the courthouse trailed by a person resembling a body guard. Holding a black handbag in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, Hadid didn't say anything as she disappeared into a room.
A few minutes later, she left the courthouse. Court officials confirmed she was cut from the list of potential jurors, an expected development following the attention her presence in court generated.
She caused a stir Monday when she emerged as a potential juror, telling the judge she had met Weinstein but could be impartial. She also said she had met actress Salma Hayek, a potential witness.
Despite Hadid's insistence that she could "keep an open mind on the facts," the defense and prosecutors later agreed that having her on the jury would be too much of a commotion.
Weinstein, 67, is accused of raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and sexually assaulting another in 2006. He has said any sexual activity was consensual.
If convicted, Weinstein could face life in prison.
Earlier this month, Los Angeles County prosecutors charged Weinstein with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in separate incidents over a two-day period in 2013. The charges came after it was reported in December that the L.A. County District Attorney's Office was reviewing eight sexual misconduct cases against Weinstein for possible charges.
The L.A. charges were the result of an investigation launched by a 2017 task force to review multiple sexual abuse allegations against Weinstein and several other major entertainment industry figures.
Also in December, Weinstein and his former studio, The Weinstein Company, reached a tenative $25 million settlement with with more than two-dozen accusers, according to the New York Times. The settlement does not require him to admit wrongdoing.
More than 75 women have come forward publicly to accuse him of misconduct following media reports beginning in October 2017 about his treatment of women with whom he worked. A number of actresses -- including Uma Thurman, "Sopranos" star Annabella Sciorra and Rose McGowan -- have accused Weinstein of rape.
Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors expelled Weinstein when the allegations surfaced. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA, also terminated his membership, as did the Producers Guild of America.
Weinstein won an Oscar in 1999 as a producer of best-picture winner "Shakespeare in Love." His companies have also been distributors of Oscar winners "The Artist," "Chicago," "The King's Speech" and "The English Patient."
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
